


Gardenia

by heartachequisition



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M, I thought I might as well, i think, that's what a drabble collection is, the chapters are not related
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-08-21
Packaged: 2018-02-03 15:38:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1749803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartachequisition/pseuds/heartachequisition
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When was it that I first got lost, in the forest on that day where our paths first crossed? I have only me to blame, when I love you each day, each night the same. SetoMary drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Love

**Author's Note:**

> Because I write a lot of SetoMary but they're never quite long enough to post separately ;; Loosely based off a 50 Theme challenge, but they're all out of order so I won't list it out...

Love, love, love. It was said so many times but… what is love?

Mary didn’t quite know – sure she had read books and knew the basics of what constituted as ‘love’, but in a sense she didn’t think boys’ love taught her what she really needed to know.

Not that she enjoyed it any less, but that was beside the point.

Looking, and falling in love – would that simply be falling in love with appearance or would it be something different?

Mary distinctly remembers her own mother telling her it was something she would learn when she finally stepped into the outside world.

Even now, she still didn’t know.

Knowing someone and having them know you well, and enjoying their company and their every breath… was that love?

Simply wanting to lay flat across another person like a small animal… was that love?

What exactly was ‘love’?

Her thoughts were something like this.

‘Love’ had never been her primary concern, but with more members in the dan, it seemed like it was a topic that was brought up more often. Momo’s curious “Are you and Seto in love?” or Ene’s cheery “You guys are totally a storybook couple!” were what sparked the question; especially the question of why her and Seto in particular?

Seto had always been with her, yes, but isn’t it natural? They got along well, and complemented each other and Mary found comfort in Seto just as he found comfort in her.

Apparently this whole idea of ‘love’ was more complicated than that.

Was it because he hugged her when she was scared? Ah, but Momo did that too.

Was it because he carried her when she got fatigued? Ah, but Kido did that too.

Was it because he enjoyed prodding her cheeks when she pouted? Well, Kano enjoyed it too.

The way they would dance together in the hallways?

The way he smiled at her even when she interrupted his work?

How he found her mistakes and her blunders all adorable beyond belief?

Mary knew she loved each and every one of the members of the dan, but there was something she couldn’t pinpoint which drew her to Seto. Just Seto being Seto and that was all; she had never really thought that much of it. 

So what was ‘love’?

“Seto, what do you think love is?” She asked this one day when he finally had a day off, and they were lounging on his couch waiting for the others to return from errands. The dan were going out to dinner that night – a tradition that had spawned a while ago and stuck, so much so that Kido would scour the city to locate Kano so he could participate – it was a whole gang activity, after all.

Seto opened his eyes, and looked towards her, “Hm? Love?”

There was a short pause as he seemed to gather his thoughts.

“Love is… when you care about people. When you want to protect and cherish people, and make them happy no matter what the cost. I think it’s something like that?”

Crawling over onto his lap, Mary nodded slowly, filing these words away in her mind for safekeeping. “Are there different kinds of love?”

He grinned, patting her head. “Of course! But even so, if you have a lot of love to give, maybe it doesn’t need to be in categories. Sometimes we say ‘friend love’ or ‘family love’ but in the end, love is still love, right?”

“Yes… that’s right…” Resting her head on his shoulder, Mary yawned. “Love is so interesting.”

“It is.” Seto agreed. “But it’s also a very wonderful thing.”

Tired, Mary crept up and planted a quick kiss to Seto’s cheek. “I love you, Seto.”

“Ah…!”

And fell asleep just like that, without watching his face glow bright red and his struggle as he attempted to escape without disrupting her sleep.

 


	2. Anniversary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wording for this came out a little awkward, ah... I guess I'm still learning though.

Mary stacked the flowers neatly in a decorative clump, humming softly to herself.

This was to be their first year anniversary and she wanted to make it special. Seto was always doing things for her – giving gifts at any given time, carrying her from place to place, staying home when she was sick, lying beside her when she couldn’t sleep and the list went on – that she felt almost inferior as a partner.

She had brought this up with him multiple times, but it was always Seto’s kind words of reassurance and utmost consideration that led her to drop the subject with only a slight frown (and maybe the light, smothering kisses he gave her afterwards).

She didn’t have much to offer, but she was going to put her very best into it. Seto didn’t come home from work until late that day, but he promised the whole day off the next to celebrate their anniversary so Mary wasn’t fussed. It gave her more time to prepare.

“Mary?” Kido peered into the room, an eyebrow raised at all the flowers and little cupcakes that the smaller girl had set out. The flowery scent had led her here, to what could only be described as an indoor tea party of sorts. “What’s all this?”

“Don’t tell anyone!” Mary answered meekly, not quite addressing the question. “It’s supposed to be a surprise…”

“Ah. Okay.” The dan leader entered, closing the door behind her. Mary didn’t stop her; she was only thankful that it was Kido who had chanced upon the room instead of Kano or Momo. Kano for obvious reasons and Momo, though she loved the girl dearly, couldn’t keep secrets to save her life. “I thought you were celebrating your anniversary tomorrow?”

“Celebrating…” Trailing off, Mary repositioned a flower. “It seems more like an excuse for another ‘Seto spoils Mary’ day again, doesn’t it? I want to make him happy, too.”

“That's not necessarily true.” Kido smiled fondly, making her way over to the table and leaning against it to admire the medusa’s work. “And well, you do make him happy though. I’ve never seen him this happy before he met you.”

Mary’s eyes seemed to soften for a moment before she slowly shook her head. Her expression became one of determination as she said: “I want to do something special. That’s all.”

“Anything you do will make him happy.” Kido affirmed, moving to leave and give the other girl her space. “But don’t overwork yourself.”

“I won’t.”

Waving Kido out the door, Mary shuffled back to her flower arrangement, pulling out crayons and starting to scribble a small picture to accompany it. Her art skills weren’t perfect, but she figured that if it was Seto, he wouldn’t laugh at her for it.

Checking the time, she sighed. Five hours to go.

* * *

 Upon returning to the house, Seto noticed all the lights had been turned off. It must’ve been later than he expected, and he made his way inside as quietly as he could, just in case anyone was sleeping.

When he passed Kido in the kitchen, he was surprised to be ushered straight out and pushed towards the staircase. “Go find Mary first.” The girl had commanded, waving a spatula at him. “She’s missed you.”

Nodding because no-one could refuse Kido’s orders, and he planned on heading to see Mary anyway, he made his way upstairs and knocked on Mary’s door.

“It’s Seto.” He called, after there was no response. “I’m coming in.”

Walking into the room, he was amazed at the transformation it had undertaken. This must’ve taken her all day, he thought, digging through his own bag to find the gift he had gotten for Mary on his way home.

Seeing how she had fallen asleep, it really must’ve taken the whole day.

He sat down beside her sleeping form on the couch, and believing he was being stealthy he draped a blanket over her only to have her awaken with a start.

“Ah… I fell asleep…?” Waiting for her to regain her senses, Seto simply grinned, letting her stare blankly around the room for a couple of seconds. Upon spotting him and the plush teddy bouquet he held out to her, Mary threw her cushion at him.

“Seto! You’re not supposed to be here!”

Seto laughed, slightly bewildered. “Ah, is that so...“

It seemed Mary wasn't mad though, only slightly miffed about his sudden appearance. After collecting her fallen cushion, she sat back next to him.

“What’s this?” Crawling over onto his lap, she examined the bouquet in detail, poking some of the teddies on the nose.

“Happy anniversary, Mary.” He bent over to kiss her softly, "I love you."

There was a moment's silence before Mary started to tremble - again, it was always Seto that made her so happy. For once, couldn't she be the one to do so?

“That’s not fair.” Mary huffed, snuggling closer to him all the same. “I wanted to be the one to make you happy.”

“But you do.” He held her tightly, as if she were the most precious thing in the world. Seto's eyes wandered the room, fully appreciating her efforts, which he planned on telling her over and over. “Look at all of this, and look at you. You make me the happiest.”

When Mary started to cry, he panicked, scrabbling around for a box of tissues. When he couldn’t find any, he rolled down his sleeves and began wiping her tears frantically, “Hey, don’t cry… what’s wrong?”

Mary shook her head, sniffling before jumping onto him, causing Seto to nearly fall over trying to catch her. Then she smiled.

“You make me the happiest, too.”

 


	3. Care

Brushing Mary’s hair was a long, difficult process and anyone who took it lightly had no idea what they were in for. Seto was one of the people who knew just how hard it was to tend to the mass of fluffy, white hair, but he did so meticulously and patiently; combing out knots and tangles with care. On occasion, he would also run his hands through it, simply because it felt nice.

“Seto?” Mary yawned, attempting to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. She was used to the long hours it took to maintain her hair, but that didn’t make it any less tiring. She was grateful Seto spent it with her though, since he knew exactly how to work with her hair, and each stroke of the hairbrush was quite relaxing. “Are you done yet?”

“Almost.” He replied swiftly, a bright smile blooming on his face. “Does it hurt?”

He tugged on a strand experimentally, and the sleepy Mary seemed to be content.

“It feels good.” She said.

He gathered most of her hair into his lap, so Mary could lay her head down and look up at him. Putting the brush down, Seto began to massage her temples, pressing his fingers gently to her head.

“Is this okay?”

“Yes…” At her consent, he continued, moving to massage her scalp and start to pull the hair strands together to form a loose ponytail.

She suppressed a shudder at this action; the feeling was always so calming she felt as if she could fall asleep at any moment. She was determined to stay up though, because any waking moment with Seto had to be cherished, and his kindness had to be cherished tenfold.

It was almost sensual the way he tied her hair, long fingers twisting around the base of her ponytail to assure not a hair was out of place. From this angle, Mary could see Seto biting his lip in concentration – and she remembered he had just gotten into the art of tying hair, and was still doing his best not to screw it up.

“Thank you, Seto.” Smiling up at him, Mary lifted a hand to pat his cheek, doing her best not to shatter his concentration. “Thank you.” 


	4. Bubbles

"Ah, if you pile them like this, it looks like bunny ears." Seto grinned while Mary giggled cutely, watching him stack bubbles on his head only to have them all fall onto his face. He attempted to build them higher, but the soapy foam refused to take shape.

"The bunny ears don't like you, Seto." Mary managed to say, pulling a solemn face at the other end of the bathtub. She tried to keep her laughter in, but was currently failing and it was coming out in adorable squeaks. "You're not worthy of the bunny."

"And you, Mary? Are you worthy of the bunny?" He asked innocently.

In response, Mary formed two loops with her wet hair, holding them above her head. She then sank into the water so only her head was visible. "There...! See?"

"I see," Reaching over, he pulled her hands away and let the hair loops fall back to he sides. "Now I don't see."

Pouting, she flung a handful of bubbles at him. There were too light to get very far though, and ended up stuck in her hair instead, which Seto smoothed out with a content smile. 

"What are you doing?" Mary asked curiously, prying his hands off her head. "I already washed my hair."

"Washing it again." He laughed. "You can never wash something too much, you know? I wonder if I wash your hair many times, will it become all shiny and sparkly?"

The medusa smiled sweetly, allowing him to continue covering her hair with soap suds. "I don't know about that. It seems more like a fairy tale kind of thing to me..."

"Great! So this can be our fairy tale right here."

Mary tilted her head, and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "In the bathtub?"

"Uh, well, yes!" He shrugged casually. "It'll be the best story ever."

"Okay." She agreed, plunging a delicate hand into the water. "One more thing, though..."

Scooping up a handful of bubbles, Mary cheekily wiped them across his upper lip and created a bubblestache on Seto's face.

"Y-yes," The medusa commented between delightful little laughs, "That's better."

He raised an eyebrow in amusement, cracking a grin all the same. "How do I look?"

"Handsome." She replied shakily, sinking further and further into the water to drown out her giggles. "You... you look... dashing."

"Excellent." Seto saluted her confidently. "I guess I'll have to stick with this look then, won't I?"

"N-no, get rid of it..." Mary's weak resistance was met with a sudden plop of soapy froth on her head. Though they were sliding rapidly, they formed a distinct circular shape. Using her hands to keep it going onto her face, she glanced up at him, "What's this...?"

"A crown." He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, leaning back to admire his work. "A bubble crown for the bubble princess."

Quickly, the medusa gathered a whole other heap of bubbles and lumped them onto his head. "Then... then you get one for being the bubble prince...!"

Seto blushed lightly and laughed. "Well, why not? But since I control the weather," He lifted up the shower head, aiming it at his companion with a dramatic pose. "Maybe you'll think twice about that!"

She shook her head theatrically, placing a hand on the shower head also. "If you must do this to our kingdom, then I won't let you bear the burden alone."

Turning the tap together, they exchanged affectionate smiles.

"Goodbye, bubble kingdom." Seto declared, unplugging the drain and letting all the soapy water swirl away. With the shower head he pried from Mary's hands, he began to rinse them off, starting with her hair. "Until tomorrow!"

"You're so silly." Mary commented simply, standing with him to make his job easier.

"You're being silly with me." Seto replied pleasantly, planting a quick kiss to her cheek. "Aren't you?"


	5. Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anymore...

Mary had a pretty voice - it was sweet and cut clearly, and words flowed through her mouth gracefully as if she were always reciting poetry, or if she was always reading a story. Seto had found himself zoning out countless times simply listening to her and when she noticed he wasn't paying attention, the list of excuses he stumbled over was endless. Somewhere along the lines, he had started keeping his eyes focused solely on the movement of her lips hoping it would help; frankly, it didn't.

He had given up trying to figure out what it was about Mary's voice that was so appealing and agreed to resigned to his fate of not only wandering feet but also wandering thoughts. It was only until he heard her singing voice that the entrancement hit him straight in the face.

Just getting home from work with Kido informing him that dinner was almost ready, Kano was doing god knows what in his room and Mary was in the shower was when he had first heard it. Kido had shrugged when he asked, and she told him "Mary sings in the shower all the time. I don't see what the big deal is." but this kind of comment led to irrational action.

Seto was now determined to be home every time Mary had a shower - for the sole purpose of hearing her sing.

She sang folk songs and sometimes nameless tunes, Disney songs and possibly anime openings (he wouldn't know, but she got really into those ones so it would only make sense). 

Kano, who had caught onto what he was doing, had laughed at him. "You're going to get caught if you sit there." He had commented with an amused smirk, gesturing to Seto's position by the bathroom door. "Also that's actually kind of creepy."

"I move when she stops singing," He smiled sheepishly. "It - it's just for that, I swear."

The blond only raised an eyebrow. "You're going to get caught, you know." He stressed the word 'caught', and with another laugh simply sauntered away.

For better or for worse, Kano was right. Seto almost believed that the other boy was behind this, if a feat like this was ever so hard to pull.

Perhaps Mary was in a really good mood when she didn't stop humming,  of course, until she opened the door and knocked the breath out of him. She had shrieked then, slamming the door back closed while he struggled to find sense of what had happened. 

When she opened the door again, only a crack, she mumbled, "S-seto, what are you... never mind, could you get Kido?"

Bewildered, Seto only asked, "Why?"

"I... I need my clothes."

Now, he was just confused. Don't people usually bring their clothes in the bathroom with them? 

"Uhh.. uh. What uh, happened to your other clothes?"

"I don't know." She replied quietly, shrinking further behind the door. "Well... I dropped the dress I was wearing into the.. sink ... and now it's wet so..."

"I'll get you clothes," He offered quickly, standing up and jumping on the spot, ready to go. "Just tell me what you need."

Mary seemed to fidget a little. "Anything is fine."

Seto nodded and sprinted down the stairs. Where did she keep her clothes anyway...? He walked around aimlessly for a bit until Kido walked out to see what he was doing. "Kido!" He called. "Could you get some of Mary's clothes?"

"What?"

"Mary is in the bathroom and she needs clothes."

"Oh, right. Okay. Here." Reaching behind the couch, she tossed a pink dress at Seto. "What's this doing here...? Here you go, anyway."

"Thanks." He pet Kido on the head much to her chagrin and sprinted back up the stairs, slowing when he heard Mary singing to herself once more.

He knocks on the door hesitantly, "Mary?"

The singing stops. Moments later, a flustered Mary answered the door, "Ah! Thank you... sorry..."

 "No problem!" He grins, "What are you sorry for?"

 "Clothes." She mumbled. "And singing."

"Hey now, why are you apologising? There's no need to apologise whoa-!"

 "For this." Mary pulled him into the bathroom and shut the door.

She had a fluffy towel wrapped around herself but Seto still kept his eyes trained to the floor. 

"Seto?"

"Yes?"

"Sing with me."

When Kano next exited his room to the sound of a soulful duet in the bathroom down the hall, he simply stood there for a moment and decided to go back into his room and pretend nothing ever happened.


	6. Wow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one shall be dedicated to Ellen, who gave me this .. prompt (?) thing: [Seto is sooooo jealous or angry he pushes her into the wall (or bed) and kiss her.]

Mary had more than one anime boyfriend. It wasn't that she particularly obsessed over one for long periods of time, but rather many, and it wasn't limited to only boys - she had anime girlfriends and anime pets and anime pretty-much-everything-she-could-get-her-hands-on. Seto was fine with this, and so was most of the dan (Hibiya still shot her suspicious looks from time to time and there'd still be Kano snickering in the corner), but sometimes it was hard to keep Mary's attention during one of her fangirl rants.

He knew of all the things to be jealous over,  _anime boyfriends_ should have been at the bottom of the list, but watching Mary fawn over their perfect angular features and the way they kissed each other was really rather upsetting. Additionally, when Kano would turn into one of them 'by accident' and Mary would be following him around wielding a reluctant frown, it was really a lot to take in.

Konoha himself was practically an anime boy too, what with his mannerisms, power and the way he dressed. But getting jealous of Konoha was pointless, since the male barely understood what human interaction even was, let alone start thinking about anything beyond friendship.

Even more onto that - good god, Seto thought he might need to get himself checked if he got jealous this easily nowadays - was when Shintaro and Mary would sit and just chat for hours on end about the latest and greatest fictional feat. Be it magical girls or harem, shoujo or shounen, reverse harem or sports anime, boys' love or girls' love (Shintaro had apparently read Mary's recommendations and she did his), it really was like they had invented a whole new language between each other.

She sometimes went out without him too, to hang out with Kido and Momo (and Ene, if he was really stretching it) and just generally have a girls' day but he still... just. Didn't like it. He didn't mind going dress shopping or flower shopping or even manga or merchandise shopping with her, so why couldn't she take him instead? He reasoned it was work hours, and he was being unreasonable, but he had known that long ago.

Basically, he was jealous of everyone.

Could you really blame him for being jealous though? He didn't want to be, he really didn't, but  _he_ had been the one to find Mary and even though she clung to him so... she was drifting further and further away. And the child within him told him that he didn't like it at all.

So naturally, as Seto never liked to keep secrets, he confronted Mary about it.

"Mary." He began, sitting on the edge of her bed as she looked up at him expectantly. "I'm jealous."

The girl blinked, round eyes widening as she sat up and crossed her legs. "Jealous? Jealous of what?"

He blushed brightly then, forgetting that he actually had to answer such a question. "Uh, well..."

Mary slotted a bookmark into her book and placed it to the side. Crawling up to Seto, she said, "This isn't like you, Seto. Do you... want to talk about something?"

"Kinda, yeah." 

He shuffled uncomfortably, trying to think of how to word this. His attention however, wavered, when Mary pulled at her skirt to reposition her legs. 

"Mary?"

She nodded at him, and continued shifting, "S-sorry, I think I'm sitting on top of a book. I don't want to hurt it so..."

God, was he even jealous of a book now? In one swift movement, he pinned her to the head of the bed, making sure to move the offending novel out of the way. Mary was silent, but a flash of something glinted in her eyes and she gazed back at him, quiet and questioning. He made the decision quickly, that he would do something to make Mary realise what she was doing to him.

"Sorry," He breathed, smiling weakly. "Just give me this one time."

It only took him a second to capture her lips, and it was a kiss she hurriedly returned as if she had simply been waiting for him to do so. Seto was almost so surprised he pulled away but Mary threaded her hands through his hair and slipped into a lying position, so that he was hovering right above her. He could sense the grin slowly making its way to his face and he felt Mary's lips tug into a shy smile beneath him.

It took them to the point of knocking teeth together before they were breaking free from the kiss for air.

"S-seto." She panted, a dusting of red across her cheeks. 

He simply nodded and laughed breathlessly as if he didn't believe this was happening. Then he kissed her again.

 

 


	7. Virtual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomodachi Life belongs to Nintendo. 
> 
> Since I got it recently and made all the dan on it (sorry I'm a kagepro nerd forever), this idea suddenly popped up!

It's a simple game, Tomodachi Life, but neither Kido, Seto or Kano had seen Mary so absorbed in something for quite so long. The incessant beeping and synthesized voices made their way into their daily routine - and the medusa didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. She was playing God for an island of cute, digital people resembling her friends, and apparently this had enough merit to keep her engaged even while Seto was at work. 

Occasionally, when Kano goes to peek, she's made his character wear gaudy outfits and made him the lead singer of various musical items, but he leaves her alone because it's funny - even to him.

"Can I do something really quickly?" He'll often ask, and Mary would hand over the stylus and he'd spray the virtual Kido's hair bright pink or give the virtual Seto his beloved grapefruit which initiates an impromptu dance sequence that always has Kano cracking up regardless of how many times he's seen it. 

Kido doesn't mind the gaming too much, if only for the fact that Mary would include her in the island's decision making. "Kido," Mary would chirp cheerfully, "Do you want to be friends with Ene?"

And of course, she would say 'Yes.' But sometimes, it's things like "Do you want to confess your love to Shintaro?" that makes the leader rethink her life choices in allowing Mary to ever purchase that game.

Not that she really had a choice in the matter. All she had done was advise Seto to buy a game that didn't involve age verification to buy - because constantly making fake IDs to buy R-18 games for Mary was really beginning to wear them out. 

So Seto had chosen Tomodachi Life, and it all rolled along fine for the most part.

Only, Mary took some things in the game much too seriously. She had been convinced for a week that they had to buy crates and crates of grapefruit because of Seto's apparent love for it - and persuaded Momo to buy herself a hamster costume for some inconspicuous reason. She had honestly believed that Kido was in love with Shintaro, and that Kano was in love with Ene, and wouldn't let it go until the virtual lovers were rejected, or broke up. 

It is mostly because of Seto, after the sudden influx of tea and a few broken windows later, that Mary is even allowed to continue playing in the first place. 

It is also because of Seto, that Mary comes back to reality.

"Seto," she begins to say, happily tapping through the game while she perched upon his lap. "Do you want to be friends with me?"

"Of course!" His reply is instant, and he takes her hand to guide her to that option. "Okay, so what should we talk about to get along with each other?"

She smiles, "Something funny?"

"Something funny, it is." 

A little while later, a bubble of a heart appears above the virtual Mary, and she speaks in that digital pitch, "I have feeling for Seto. I've got to tell him!" And the real Mary flushes, squirming in the taller boy's lap as he realises what's going on and turns red as well.

"Do I let her?" The medusa asks quietly, stylus hovering above the options as she gauges her companion's reaction. The game wasn't wrong in the sense that she did have ... feelings ... for Seto, but of all the things, she didn't think virtual Mary would have more courage than she would to confess. Granted, anything would have more courage than she did in the matter, but Mary was stubborn in admitting it.

"Well, um, it's your choice!" Seto says jovially, with a hint of nervousness. He fidgets a bit, but shoots her a smile anyway. It's not like she'd get any strange ideas about the two of them, right? Not that he would mind, but...

"Okay," she murmurs, and lets the avatar of herself go. 

"I've been in love with you for a long time." The virtual Mary states monotonously, and Mary has to stop herself from repeating such an overdone line. "Will you go out with me?"

There's a long silence before the virtual Seto responds. "Sure."

When the joyous music plays, and the screen shines with tacky sparkles and musical notes, Mary drops the 3DS on the floor. Seto glances at her, questioning,  _was she not expecting them to get together or...?_

Mary is conflicted. She knows not to trust the game in every aspect - Kido had made sure to make that fact known - but such a childish thing got her hopes up and she couldn't stop them soaring higher and higher. 

"Seto," she starts, and he nods to indicate he's listening. She doesn't finish the sentence.

He's startled to find that in the next second, they're kissing, and he doesn't know where to put his hands, or whether he should be closing his eyes, or how he should move in general because this is the first time he's been kissed by someone so desperately. Before she pulls away, he returns it, pressing back ever so lightly in fear of hurting her, but she pulls him closer and then all sense flies out the window.

When they break for air, they're both red as can be, and Mary goes to pick her console off the floor. She dusts herself off and sits back on Seto's lap as if none of that had ever happened. There is an intimacy that hadn't been there before though, and Seto rests his chin on her shoulder and closes his eyes.

Mary exhales deeply, and with shaking hands goes back to her game. But the spark she had gotten from the game was gone. All she could focus on was Seto's even breaths on her shoulder, and her own heated face. It continues to burn brightly when Kido enters the room, a delayed reaction from the dropped DS.

"Is anything broken?" The girl asks, voice lowering as she assumed Seto was asleep.

"N-n-nothing," Mary squeaks involuntarily, unable to find her voice again. 

"Alright then." Sauntering over, Kido peers at the screen. "So Seto is your special someone now?"

Mary doesn't make another sound as she hides under her mass of hair.


	8. Request

Mary is fun, because she has no idea how the world works. It's this kind of thing that Seto realises, and it's this kind of thing that helps him understand. All his life he's been surrounded by people who had grown up too fast - himself included, and not just physically - and Mary balances it out. She reminds him a lot of Hanako, if he thinks really hard about it, because they're both keen and loyal and cute and sweet.

It scares him sometimes though, because he knows. He knows what happens to people like that. 

Yet before he can let his thoughts go back down that path, Mary climbs up from under the blanket and wraps her arms around him. Some time during the night she had sneaked into his bed again and he had been too tired to refuse her. 

"Mary?" He mumbles softly. His mouth is dry.

"M' cold." She replies, but he can feel her cheek against his chest and it's burning. He takes the excuse anyway.

They're still for a few moments. 

"Hey, Seto." Mary breaks the silence, clambering a little higher so that her chin is resting on his shoulder. 

"Yes?"

As he turns his head, their faces are right up against each other and he almost laughs as her face grows impossibly flustered. He's okay, mostly, but it's probably because he's still half-asleep.

"Can... can you do something for me?"

His answer is immediate. Her requests were not nearly as bizarre as Kano's could be, and he was thankful he didn't have to think twice about agreeing. "Of course, what do you need me to do?" 

"Two things," she says, holding up two fingers. It looks like she is posing for a photo, and he gives her a lazy thumbs-up. She takes his thumb and places his hand on her head.

"Th-the first thing..." Mary suddenly sighs, before she straightens in his hold as if giving herself confidence. "Can you please help me get this book I really want?"

Seto blinks. Did she need his ID again? He never understood why some books were age-restricted anyway. It wasn't like they held any graphic material, right?

"Yeah, sure! Talk to me about it?"

"Um! It..! It, ah..." The medusa fidgets a little before she decides to skip the question and move on. "And... so, after that..."

He's used to it, and he doesn't want to force her so he goes with it. "After that?"

Mary rolls until she's back on the mattress, by his side, with his arm as a pillow. She slaps herself in the face twice, recites a mantra and rolls back. 

"Would you mind..."

"Would I mind...?" Seto urges, an encouraging smile on his face.

"Would you mind... buying this?" Out of seemingly nowhere - Seto suspects she's storing items in her hair but he can never be certain - Mary plucks out a magazine and points. He blushes, pushing the magazine away from his line of sight. 

"Is that a-" 

"Yes." She affirms in a squeaky voice, before he can utter another word. It's amazing she hasn't fainted yet from all the blood going to her face. "D-do you not like it?"

It's clothing, he notes mentally. Doing a quick run-over: it's just clothing. Lingerie, to be exact.

Apparently Mary thought it would be a great idea to ask him - an 18 year old teenage boy, when she clearly has enough female friends she could go with - to buy .. thigh highs and garter belts? On the plus side, at least she did ask him, and not any of the other guys. He doesn't know if this revelation is any bit reassuring though.

Mary looks crestfallen, and he panics. With a quivering voice, she begins to speak again, "Um, it's- it's okay if you don't, if you don't want to -" 

"It's fine," he gulps finally. It's almost a grimace, an awkward happy grimace because he doesn't want to offend her, when he pulls the magazine back and breaths deeply. "Which one do you want?"


	9. Reunite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-STR, after everyone goes their separate ways. Though that's kind of just a sorry excuse as to why no-one else is involved...

Mary woke frazzled, her hair stick up in odd places and hanging over her eyes as she tiptoed groggily out of bed to check the time. She went about her business for a while, stepping over books and knocking more books over as if it were her intention all along. The books on the floor slid under her as she walked, smooth as water under her bumbling figure. Then it struck her.

It was today, wasn't it? 

She was going to see him  _today._

The sleep vanished from her face instantly. Then with a rather excited shriek (though she'd never admit it emerged from her own mouth), Mary toppled down the stairs and zoomed around her residence. Teapots on the kitchen table, dishes in the sink, laundry somewhere off the couch and her never-ending supply of books shoved somewhere into the corners to be rediscovered later - she had never cleaned so fast before. Well, it couldn't exactly be classified as cleaning, but at least her house looked... reasonably tidier than before. 

It was only little before noon, but exhaustion had soon overcome her and she lay snoozing lightly behind the door. She was so excited she couldn't suppress it, but at the same time the nerves started acting up. What if he had changed while he was gone?

A knock sounded, just on time, echoing through the walls of her house as she shot straight back up again. 

"Mary!" greeted Seto warmly as she all but leapt into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Seto!" she giggled, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. He had lifted her up and was spinning her around, so she held on tighter. 

"It's been a while," he laughed breathlessly, slowing to let her back down. She refused to let go. Seto patted her cheek, "Hey, I missed you."

"I missed you too." The medusa started to pout. "I really, really missed you."

"I missed you more."

"Nuh-uh," Her eyebrows furrowed, though a healthy flush crept onto her face. This was an argument she wasn't going to lose. "I missed  _you_ more."

Seto only laughed, "But I thought of you every single day."

"I thought of you..." a reply in a quiet murmur, "...every single hour of every single day."

The young man stammered, stuttering through a bit of nonsense before he sheepishly admitted, "I never stopped thinking about you."

"M-me neither..." 

And suddenly it was silent, as they realised what had just taken place. 

"Um-!" They both started at the same time, abruptly cutting each other off.

"You go," Mary mumbled, letting her hand tangle in her hair - a simple, comforting gesture.

"Let's be together forever," he spoke with a fluidity that could be compared to rain. An effortless smirk was tugging at the corner of his mouth as he pressed his forehead to her own. And his eyes - shimmering hazel orbs of admiration - looked straight into her own. Her mind went blank.

"S-seto...?" The medusa felt her reddening face grow hotter, and she shut her eyes as she tried to avoid his gaze. Had he grown up while they were apart? Though just as she contemplated this, he brought her back again with a cheerful merriment in his voice.

"Or, er, something like that." A nervous chuckle. "I mean, if you want to! What I'm saying is..."

"I - u-um, I -"

"Well, you know what I'm saying, right?"

"Y-yes, I -"

"So, anyway, do you remember that shop we used to go to? When you first joined the Mekakushi Dan..."

It came to light that this man, the brave boy who had first found her many years ago, was on a nervous ramble trying to change the subject that he had unwittingly blurted out. He had a bad habit of running away from things, even at this age, and verbally he was no different.

"Forever," she suddenly stated, cleanly and sweetly as the spring breeze.

Seto blinked. "Forever?"

"Yes." Her reply was instant. At his earnest expression, she shifted a little, "... if you would like to."

His response was to dip her into a kiss, light and precious and powerful, because Seto was never all that good with words anyway. 

Running his tongue over her lips, as if to seal the deal, he pulled away. "I love you a lot." he grinned, though they were both hot enough to light a candle by that point.

And Mary smiled, because this really wasn't an argument she was ever going to lose.

"Well, I love you more." 


End file.
